Summary

The article emphasizes the inefficiency of waiting for the Daily Scrum to report impediments in a Scrum process and advocates for immediate team action to resolve issues.

Abstract

The article critiques the common misconception that the Daily Scrum is the sole platform for reporting and following up on impediments. It argues that the essence of the Daily Scrum is often misunderstood, with teams focusing on the three questions (What did I do yesterday? What will I do today? Do I see any impediment?) without considering how their answers contribute to achieving the Sprint Goal. The author illustrates this with an example where a team member, Ann, loses two days of work by waiting to report an impediment at the Daily Scrum instead of addressing it promptly with her team. The article suggests that Scrum Teams should act collectively to resolve issues as they arise, using direct communication to expedite problem-solving and avoid delays. It also reminds readers that the Scrum Master is available to assist with impediments that the team cannot resolve on its own.

Opinions

The author believes that the practice of waiting for the Daily Scrum to report impediments is incorrect and leads to a loss of valuable time.
The article expresses that the three questions of the Daily Scrum are not the only way to conduct the meeting and that their purpose is to help the team meet the Sprint Goal, which is often overlooked.
It is the author's opinion that immediate action should be taken on impediments and that the Scrum Team should work together to resolve issues swiftly.
The author suggests that the Scrum Master's role is sometimes overemphasized, as the Development Team should be empowered to solve many impediments without constant intervention.
Direct communication is seen as the most effective method for resolving impediments and preventing misunderstandings.
The article encourages readers to engage with the Scrum community on Slack to discuss and share thoughts on Scrum practices.

So you Scrum, but…

You waited for the Daily Scrum to report your impediment?!

Are you serious? — episode 2

Many see the three questions as the essence of a Daily Scrum, often called a Daily Stand-up:

What did I do yesterday?
What will I do today?
Do I see any impediment?

This is a wrong summary of the three questions. It misses the vital part: “that helped/that will help/that prevent the Development Team (to) meet the Sprint Goal”. It’s an inspect and adapt event.

On top of that: the three questions are a WAY to do the Daily Scrum, there are other ways.

But what bothers me the most is that many see the Daily Scrum as the only place to bring forward your impediment. And the only place to follow up on the impediment.

Here is an example:

Ann works on item ABC, but can’t proceed because she doesn’t get the required reply on her e-mail to a third party. She waits until next days’ Daily Scrum to raise the impediment. This is the supposed way to do it. The Scrum Master is now informed and picks it up. He sends out a reminder mail that the team is eagerly awaiting a reply.

A day later, during the next Daily Scrum, Ann reports that she still didn’t get the information. Two days lost for Ann. Two days of Ann’s time lost for the Development Team to meet the Sprint Goal. And still no resolution yet to the impediment.

If this is the way you work: repair it immediately!

There is so much wrong here. The main issue however is that the Scrum Team isn’t acting as a team responsible for the success of the Sprint.

Whenever you face an issue, make it a team effort to see if it can be resolved fast. In the example above: what is preventing someone of the team to call the 3rd party? Sure, there might be situations where this isn’t possible. Here the Scrum Master can step in. He/she could manage to establish a direct connection to resolve this impediment and any need for feedback in the future.

Direct communication is the speediest way to resolve impediments and prevent conflict and your best bet that the message comes across; avoid proxies to those who need help and those who can give it.

Don’t wait for the Daily Scrum to report new impediments and report updates on the impediments.

Don’t look at the Scrum Master every time something is not going as expected.

Tackle the issues when they arise. They are impeding you to meet the Sprint Goal, so worry about it! If the Development Team can solve them, by all means do! Get rid of them asap! It’s not that the Scrum Master has to hold your hand.

If there’s more to the impediment, make sure the Scrum Master knows and acts upon it as soon as possible.

Did you like the article? Then it would be awesome if you’d clap 👏🏻. I am also very keen to learn what you think about this topic.

My twitter profile is https://twitter.com/WJAgeling

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Thank you for taking your time to read seriously.